
“I had treatment last year and I want to give something back.”
This trial was looking at trastuzumab (Herceptin) and anastrozole (Arimidex) for breast cancer that has spread to another part of the body (secondary breast cancer).
Doctors can use hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and biological therapy to treat secondary breast cancer.
Anastrozole is a type of hormone therapy. It is for women who have been through the and have breast cancer that is hormone receptor positive.
Trastuzumab is a type of biological therapy called a monoclonal antibody. It kills breast cancer cells that make too much of a protein called HER2. This is often referred to as being ‘HER2 positive’.
This trial was comparing anastrozole alone with a combination of anastrozole and trastuzumab. The aims of the trial were to
The researchers found that the combination of trastuzumab and anastrozole was better than anastrozole alone.
The trial recruited 208 women. They were all and had secondary breast cancer that was HER2 positive. Half the women had a combination of anastrozole and trastuzumab, the other half had anastrozole alone. Later, more than two thirds of the women who only had anastrozole were able to have trastuzumab.
With the combination of both drugs, the cancer responded in just over 20% of the women treated. With anastrozole alone, the cancer responded in just under 7% of the women. And there was a difference in the time it took for the cancer to start growing again. On average, this happened after about
Women having both drugs had more side effects, including damage to the heart. A very small number of women had serious side effects.
The researchers wrote their report in 2006. They are continuing to follow the progress of the women who took part and they may publish results in the future.
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. As far as we are aware, the information they sent us has not been reviewed independently () or published in a medical journal yet. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Dr Alison Jones
F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd
Genentech Ltd
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I had treatment last year and I want to give something back.”